You would be hard pressed to find a more energetic and supportive colleague than Karina Wolvey. LiteracyPlanet’s Head of People & Culture certainly lives and breathes our company values including connection, wonderment, fun, and one community.
She simplifies her role down to “I look after people and culture for a cool company that makes online educational games for kids!” But there is a lot that would not happen without Karina driving it. Karina’s focus is always on how she can make this a stellar place to work—from recruiting the best people who believe in our purpose, to finding creative ways to ensure staff are the best versions of themselves, in and out of the office.
“I truly believe in our purpose and love the people I am lucky enough to work with each day. We call ourselves the ‘LP fam’ because we are like one big family. The best part of my job is getting to work with such a passionate and caring team.”
Having cut her teeth in service with McDonald’s at the tender age of 14, Karina credits the fast-food giant with the positive work habits she has to this day. Service-minded, dedicated, disciplined, and committed. These are all values she learned early on and has carried with her.
Following a long-held love of Martial Arts, Karina then started her own Martial Arts business for a few years, then made a leap into the corporate world, working her way up to a national leadership role. But it was taking a chance on a temporary role opportunity at LiteracyPlanet that turned out to be one of the best decisions Karina has made.
“It seemed like a super fun place to be. And it really is just that!”
Servant leadership and mentorship are important to Karina. “I’ve had a lot of great mentors over the years. I take any opportunity to soak up knowledge and insights from people around me.” And in her role at LiteracyPlanet she leads the way in exemplifying what it means to give back. In fact, if she wasn’t a Planeteer, Karina would consider an alternate career running an animal rescue shelter, “How awesome would that be?” she says.
When we asked Karina about life outside LiteracyPlanet, she offered some fun insights. Her adventurous spirit flows through her life, enjoying travel, a Sunday morning moto ride and staying fit. And as borders come down, she’s looking forward to lots more of this in the next year.
Otherwise, you’d likely find Karina catching up with friends, playing with her beloved doggo, at the beach, or at weekend-favourite Bunnings — “I buy a lot of plants!”.
Our favourite Karina revelation though comes at the end of our chat with her. In an attempt to find out something perhaps not many of her colleagues would know about her, she humbly reveals this doozy: “I normally don’t like to tell people this, but I have a 2nd Dan Black Belt in Martial Arts, and a couple of Australian titles.”
Note to self: don’t mess with this ninja Planeteer!
